Development of polymeric liquid crystals for the preparation of microspheres responsive to magnetic fields

我们的长期目标是制备充满药物的颗粒，当磁铁放在它们上面时，它们可以释放药物。赋予这些无毒聚合物粒子响应功能的材料是液晶。这个项目的主要工作是聚合物和液晶的制备和化学组合，它们对磁场的响应具有可测量的相位变化。磁敏液晶聚合物将被制成薄膜，并测试它们在有或没有外加磁场的情况下调节渗透薄膜的药物量的能力。在未来，成功的聚合物液晶可以制成可注射的颗粒悬浮液或可植入的药物输送装置，可以作为外部激活的高效药物储存库。应用范围包括副作用最小、杀伤效果最大的肿瘤治疗、即刻起效的抑郁症和精神病的治疗以及慢性疼痛的治疗。

Our long term goal is to prepare drug-filled particles that can be made to release their drug when a magnet is held above them. The materials that give these non-toxic polymer particles their response function are liquid crystals. The main work to be performed during this project is the preparation and chemical combination of polymers and liquid crystals, which respond to magnetic fields with measurable phase changes. The magneto-sensitive liquid crystal polymers will be made into membranes and tested for their ability to regulate the amount of drug that permeates the membrane with and without an applied magnetic field. In the future, successful polymeric liquid crystals can be made into injectable particle suspensions or implantable drug delivery devices that can function as externally activatable reservoirs of highly effective drugs. Applications include tumour therapy with minimal side effects and maximized cancer killing, treatment of depression and psychotic diseases with immediate onset of action, and management of chronic pain.